FPI Resources and Suggested Reading on U.S. Defense Spending

The future of defense spending hangs in the balance.  With a Thanksgiving 2011 deadline looming, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction -- a bipartisan “super committee” of lawmakers created by the August 2011 Budget Control Act -- is racing to finish negotiations for a bill that would trim America’s federal deficit by more than $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.  If Congress fails to pass such legislation before January 12, 2012, then over the next decade the Pentagon’s budget, which was already cut by $450 billion by the Budget Control Act, will be further slashed by as much as $600 billion more.

Ahead of this troubling potential scenario, the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) is continuing to monitor statements from government and military officials, as well as defense experts, regarding the grave consequences of these cuts to our national security.  We believe that the following recent congressional hearings, speeches, analyses, op-eds, and blog posts may be helpful in compelling policymakers to avert this devastating outcome.  For more resources related to defense spending, visit FPI’s website.

FPI Resources

• The Defense Budget Has Already Suffered Cuts – FPI Executive Director Jamie M. Fly – Foreign Policy’s blog, Shadow Government – October 18, 2011

• FPI Fact Sheet: The Dangers of Deep Defense Cuts: What America’s Civilian and Military Leaders are Saying – Foreign Policy Initiative – October 12, 2011

• FPI Analysis: Defense Spending and the Super Committee – Foreign Policy Initiative – September 12, 2011

Defending Defense Resources

• [Event] – Defending Defense: Defense Spending and the Super Committee – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – September 8, 2011

• Defending Defense - Warning: Hollow Force Ahead! – Foreign Policy Initiative, American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation – July 21, 2011

Government Resources

• [Hearing] – The Future of the Military Services and Consequences of Defense Sequestration – House Armed Services Committee – November 2, 2011

• [Hearing] – Readiness in the Age of Austerity – House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness – October 27, 2011

• [Hearing] – The Future of National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11: Perspectives of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey – House Armed Services Committee – October 13, 2011

• Defense Priorities: Today and Tomorrow – Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta – Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars – October 11, 2011

• [Hearing] –  The Future of National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11: Perspectives from Outside Experts – House Armed Services Committee – September 13, 2011

Additional Resources

• U.S. Defense on the Defensive – Editorial – Washington Post – November 6, 2011

• Decimating the 9-1-1 Force – Reps. Randy Forbes (R-VA) and Todd Akin (R-MO) – Defense News – October 31, 2011

• The Dangerous Debate Over Cutting Military Spending – Robert J. Samuelson – Washington Post – October 30, 2011

• In Defense of the Triad – Elbridge Colby and Paul Lettow – The Weekly Standard Blog – October 28, 2011

• Defense Cuts Imperil US Asia Role – Rep. Randy J. Forbes (R-VA) – The Diplomat – October 26, 2011

• Air Power: Lessons from Libya – Michael Auslin – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) – October 25, 2011

• Will Congress Pull the Trigger and Shoot the U.S. Military? – Mackenzie Eaglen – AOL Defense –October 21, 2011

• Don't Rush to Gut Ground Forces – Nathan Freier – AOL Defense – October 21, 2011

• This is No Time to Cut Defense – Paul Miller – Foreign Policy’s blog, Shadow Government – October 17, 2011

• Why Defense Cuts Don't Make Sense – Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) – October 14, 2011

• Defense Spending is Not the Problem – Maj. Gen. Bentley B. Rayburn (USAF, Ret.) – National Review Online – October 10, 2011

• Our Troops Don’t Want a Gold-Plated Military – Armor Will Suffice – Joel Arrands – National Review Online’s blog, The Corner – October 10, 2011

• No More Cuts – Gary Schmitt and Thomas Donnelly – The Weekly Standard – October 1, 2011

• Nuclear Modernization – Mark Schneider – The Weekly Standard – October 1, 2011

• Defending America and the Quest for Peace: 10 Years after 9/11 – Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) – American Enterprise Institute – September 12, 2011

• Save the Lightning – Thomas Donnelly – The Weekly Standard – September 3, 2011